


Back to Him

by WhereAreTheBreaks



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Crack a Little Bit, Fix-It, Getting Together, I Will Fix This My Goddamn Self, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Multi, Other, Resurrection, Reunion, Season 4 Season Finale, Spoilers, Underworld
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 19:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18505447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhereAreTheBreaks/pseuds/WhereAreTheBreaks
Summary: Watched the season finale. Had a breakdown. Bon appetite.SPOILERS!!!Or... Quentin breaks out of the underworld to get back to his man.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Someone had to make the reunion happen.

He took a step towards the doorway, his chest felt tight with the weight of seeing his friends mourn him. It was weird, he thought, to be looking into what was his funeral and having it be the first time he got to see Eliot in months.

It seemed like the last few weeks had been a steady mantra: get through this, get Eliot. That was repeating in the back of his mind, pushing him forward, pushing him further. He had done everything that he could, died even, to get Eliot back and keep him safe.

Quentin paused just in front of the doorway. 

Was this really where and how he wanted things to end? Without doing everything that he could to at the very least say goodbye to the man he had already spent one lifetime loving.

He sent a quick glance over his shoulder to Penny, who stood impassively watching him from his place in front of the door.

“Just…” Quentin trailed off. He spun in place until he was facing his old friend. “Just one more thing.” 

Penny looked amused, but not in the mocking way that he had when they had first met. “I think you’ll find everything you’re looking for on the other side of that door.”

Quentin wished that the response could be the reassurance that he needed in order to take that last step into the afterlife. But it wasn’t. Not when there was the chance at a life with Eliot. Not when he hadn’t even gotten to speak a word to him before he was being whisked off into the mirror world.

“Is there a chance that…” As he spoke, he started making his way back over to where Penny was standing. He didn’t know where he was going to take that sentence. 

“Is there any chance that you could….” Honestly, he really wasn’t that great at think of stuff to say on the spot, but he was suddenly struck by an idea. It was absolutely crazy. There was little to no chance that he would succeed.

But when had that ever stopped him?

He was as close to Penny as he could get staring up at the slightly taller man trying to think of anything that could get him where he needed to be.

“It’s just-“He cut off again. “Oh, fuck it.”

Quentin would love to say that he caught Penny off guard but there was no flicker of surprise on his handsome face. The punch that Quentin had sent his way knocked him to the ground and gave Quentin the opening he desperately needed. 

He hopped over Penny’s fallen body and ran for the door. He slammed it open and ran.

He only had vague memories of the underworld from the last time that he had been here. And he also had the help of a dragon, which would have been nice right about now.

Of course, he was Quentin Coldwater and bad luck might as well be his middle name. 

He weaved his way through the small crowd of people and hoped that he was headed in the right direction. 

It was… surprising(?), he almost didn’t even want to think it out of fear of jinxing himself, that no one was following him. There were no outraged shouts and the sounds of heavy footfalls to persuade him to run just a little bit faster.

He really needed some helpful bright neon sign that said “underworld emergency exit to the living this way” to pop up on the wall. 

“Any form of guidance would be _super_ helpful right about now.” Quentin muttered under his breath as he started to slow. It was a sort of prayer to anyone that would listen and a sort of thinking-out-loud type thing.

Now that he had stopped, he took a quick look around and saw gray windowless walls and a sterile hall to his left and gray windowless walls and a sterile hall to his right.

God, he was super bad at this when he was by himself.

He ran a tired hand down his face before pushing his bangs out of the way. When he looked back at his two options, there was suddenly a man standing in front of him.

Quentin nearly jumped back a step back in surprise.

“There is no way that I’m going back.” The words came out in a rush of panic, but the impeccably dressed man made no immediate move towards him.

He had a dark complexion that seemed to almost glow in the office like lighting. He looked at Quentin impassively with his dark eyes. It was a once over that made Quentin feel helpless, like an ant staring up at a boot.

“So, you’re the questor that I’ve been hearing about through the grapevine.” His face was stoic, but Quentin got the impression that he was not living up to the hype. “You’re shorter than I would have thought, much sadder looking too.”

He clapped his hands together and his handsome face broke out into a smile.

“Heroes aren’t what they used to be, am I right?” He didn’t really wait for Quentin to respond. “Back in my day, quests were a big deal. Being a part of one practically made you a super star.”

Honestly, what the fuck?

“I really have somewhere I have to be…” He wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but he really needed to get back before anything crazy happened to his friends without him.

“Oh, I know. You’re planning on trying to get back up top. Big reunion planned I’m sure.” The man let out a quick laugh. “You’re not the first person to think that they could break out of here and go back to their old life like it was no big thing.”

Suddenly all the friendliness was gone.

“There is no getting out. This is where you belong now.”

It wasn’t.

“Look, my friends need me. I’ve been through a lot worse things than dying and I’m not going to let this little bump in the road keep me from getting back to them.” He felt brave standing there yelling at… whoever this guy was. His jaw was set in that way that Eliot would sometimes make fun of him for once the fighting was all said and done. Like he was an angry, growly puppy with big brown doe eyes. 

His heart ached just thinking about his ridiculously overdressed for every occasion friend. Hopefully more than friend when he got back.

“Who is them?” The other man’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. “You say them, in reference to your friends, but I sense there is just one that keeps you moving forward.” There was a quizzical expression on the handsome face. “Tell me about them and why you’re so desperate to get back to them.”

Why did this always have to happen? It was kind of cliché. He opens up about his love and gets closure then it’ll no doubt be used against him later. 

“What happens then? After I’ve told you everything? You take me back to Penny and force me into the afterlife?” Quentin laughed humorlessly. “No thanks, I think I’m better off walking the other way on this one.”

“If you tell me, I might be so moved by your story that I tell you which hall might get you where you want to go.”

An enticing offer, but he’d seen enough movies to know that this probably wouldn’t end well for him.

He turned and started to walk.

The man didn’t follow.


	2. Chapter 2

Quentin had been walking down the same seemingly endless hallway, alone, in the silence for the last twenty minutes.

If he didn’t see a turn or door or anything soon, he might actually scream.

“Quentin Coldwater, former student at Brakebills University. Unremarkable in his studies but remarkably well known for getting into trouble. Friends include Julia Wicker, Margo Hanson, Alice Quinn, Penny Adiyodi, Kady Orloff-Diaz, and Eliot Waugh.” It was the man from before.

Why couldn’t he have a normal life?

Except that he would never actually want that a would no doubt actually live an incredibly sad existence.

“What about them?” Quentin asked hesitantly.

“Well it has been be one of them that you are so desperate to get back to.” The man sounded so sure. He wasn’t wrong but he was way too cocky.

“You can’t know that.”

The man gave him a blank look. “When you’ve played this game as many times I have you get rather good at read people and reading between the lines. You say you want to get back to your friends and you weren’t lying but I think that there is one ‘friend’ that stands above the rest.”

Who was this guy?

“Okay,” Quentin stopped dead in his tracks. “Who the fuck are you? You think you know so much, huh? Then show me the way out of here. I may have died but I’m not needed down here. I have friends who need me. People I love that I haven’t seen and didn’t even get to say goodbye to. I need to get back to them.” The anger burned at his eyes, the frustration that had been building ever since the elevator doors opened to reveal Penny.

Unfortunately, he had never been all that great at holding on to emotion.

Hot tears slid down his cheeks but that didn’t stop him from continuing. “You think that there is someone that I love above all the others? You’re right. But who that is, it’s none of your damn business. They have all done so much for me, and I have done so much for them and if there is one more thing I can do? I am going to damn well do it.” His voice may have been trembling along with his hands, but he held his head high in the face of this stranger.

The man looked only slightly taken aback as he took in Quentin’s words.

“I’ll have you know that I am a God. With a capital G. And I have kind of found myself down here with the not so great idea of getting to know this quester that all the other gods are chattering on about.” The dude looked a little offended that Quentin hadn’t recognized him. Though, now knowing that the dude was a god made the glowy complexion make a bunch more sense.

“I really haven’t had the best luck with gods, so you’ll have to excuse me not wanting to spill all my secrets like I’m a teenager at a slumber party.”

God, why were gods so dramatic?

Dude gave him a considering look, even rubbed his chin.

“Tell you what,” he took a small step closer, putting himself in arms reach of Quentin. “If you tell me about who it is that has you so hell bent on climbing your way out of the afterlife, I’ll probably be swayed into helping you.”

Unfortunately, it was kind of all he had to work with at the moment. So, he sighed and looked what he supposed was heavenward and started talking.

“Well this whole thing started the moment I stepped on Brakebill property. Eliot was lounging on the school sign smoking a cigarette…”

Talked about how it had started the moment he stepped onto campus, all through the life that he and Eliot had shared together, the following rejection, and all the stolen moment between and since. He talked about Alice and how he had thought that he had loved her before realizing his emotions were so much stronger when he was with Eliot. He talked about the son they had and Eliot’s kind of weird obsession with waistcoats. How all of his friends never said anything but had this knowing look in their eyes way before he had realized his feelings for Eliot.

It felt like maybe he had been talking for hours or mere minutes but there was so much to say about this fabulous man that knew just how to get Quentin to agree to anything. There was no way to describe the way he felt about Eliot without talking about everything that they had been through together. How they had changed and grown together like two seeds planted too close until they merged together in a twist of fate that defied expectations.

“Now, we just got the monster that was possessing him out of him and last I saw him he was being carted away to medical with his stomach sliced open. I didn’t even get to talk to him. Didn’t even get a word in.”

Eliot is kind of the love of his life. Or at least one of them. Hopefully two.

The man stood and looked Quentin over like he wasn’t quite expecting the man to explode the way he had. It felt like his shoulders were a little bit lighter after unleashing all of his emotions.

“Well. That was a lot.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “I once had a whirlwind romance when I was young. She was so beautiful that I had to be with her. I snuck up to the world of the living and watched her for months.” He gave a slight chuckle. “She was so kind to me when I first approached her.”

“Yeah… Eliot? The first thing he did was make fun of my name.”

“Seph, she probably would have done the same thing.” A small smile appeared on the man’s face. “She was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and she could make me laugh in a way that no one else could.”

Seph? As in Persephone? As in this was Hades?

“Oh my god.”


	3. Chapter 3

Hades paused in his musing and shot an eyebrow up in question. “Yes?”

“Your- Your Hades.” He quickly tucked some of his hair behind his ear.

He chuckled like his involvement in Quentin’s life was not absolutely mind-blowing. Sure, there were a lot of gods that Quentin had encountered during his many quests and it was entirely likely that, if he ever got out of the underworld, Hades would not be the last god he would encounter. Still, _Hades_. 

Quentin had been obsessed with an entire fictional world. It was safe to say that he had a Greek Mythology phase as a kid. So, getting to meet one of the major gods, and under somewhat helpful circumstances, was kind of a childhood dream come true. 

“I’ve been watching you and your friends for a while now Quentin.” Hades’ face was serious as he took a step closer. “I know what you’re trying to do. Not just with this quest but in the long run and I can tell you one thing: it’s not going to work.”

“Wha-“He started to speak but Hades just steam rolled over him.

“You think that if you keep fighting and jump from one quest to another that eventually the world will start to get better. The truth is, the world doesn’t want to be better and there isn’t a way to change something that doesn’t want to be changed. I admire your persistence though; many would have given up after hitting the second speed bump.” 

Slowly, as if telegraphing his movements so as not to startle Quentin, Hades placed a cool hand on his shoulder. They stared into each other’s eyes and there was an understanding in Hades that Quentin was seldom on the receiving end off.

“You are lucky enough to have people who love you in this world. Do not waste this chance trying to change things beyond even my power. Seph says that I have a soft heart, but do not expect similar favors from me in the future.”

Before Quentin could question anything, any of Hades’ somewhat cryptic message, the plain hallway that they stood in started to quickly fade into darkness.

“I wish you luck Mr. Coldwater, few are given as many chances as you.”

 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 

There was constant source of noise just beyond his awareness. Without opening his eyes, he knew that this was going to be the reason for his waking up. There wasn’t any name for the noise yet, just an annoyance that called him to rejoin the world.

Quentin continued to keep his eyes shut on the off chance that there was some possibility that he might fall asleep once more but after what felt like it had to have been an hour, he accepted his fate. It was time to open his eyes and see what exactly it was that Hades had done to him.

It was dark. The sounds that he had been hearing started to come more and more into focus. People were chattering in the distance. He couldn’t make out any words but the harder he tried, the more his head hurt. He couldn’t make his eyes focus in the darkness either, he knew he was on something soft but beyond that, it was impossible to say with any certainty.

Quentin moved to reach his arm out, hoping to gain more information about his surroundings, but with a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach he realized he could barely move his arm at all. Wherever he was, it was a confined space. Once he moved his hand to come across more padding, Quentin started to piece together the previous events. The mirror, the regret, the underworld and Hades. 

He’d died. Really properly died.

And Hades had brought him back…

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to talk about your reaction or feelings about the show/episode in the comments. I think everyone needs to know that they are not alone in their feelings,
> 
> I hope everyone is doing okay and is doing what is best for them, all things considered.  
> I love all of you guys <<<<33333


End file.
